What wood to use

Rob Keeble

Member
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Location
GTA Ontario Canada
Ok Vaughn its all your fault I got no sleep last night.:D:rofl::wave:;)

I posted my glorius wood haul and mentioned using Jatoba for the jaws of my vice. Then Vaughn woke me up. He is right about how hard Jatoba is and after thinking about it, right that i should not use it for my vice Jaws. I mean if i did i might as well use steel and we all know what that does to wood. Oh boy so i went through hurdles in my head last night. Whats not hard as nails and not soft as pine.

I want to put a couple of holes in the outer or moving vice jaw so thats what had me going. My vice dont have a pop up dog to grab a board and push it against a bench dog.

So fire away what wood should i use that wont let go at the first bit of pressure and at the same time wont leave pressure marks in the piece i am working on.:huh::dunno:

Guess i am in for another trip to the lumber guy.
 
Maple (rock maple) has long been a wood of choice for vise jaws... and it works well & lasts a long time. It may still be too hard, though, if you clamp softwoods in your vise often - douglas fir is a better choice for vise jaws intended for lots of softwood work.

You can have the best of both worlds, of course - major jaws of rock maple, with "soft jaws" liners made of softwood.
 
The sticks make a good idea Toni this stuff is dense and straight grain and boy its got real heft. I think the sticks would stay staight if i cut some off let them settle then jointed and thickness planed them. I need a set two.

I am relieved that Vaughn stopped me though.;)
 
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